Trade deals are one subject (one of the very few left) which do not break down on party line. Both the Republicans and the Democrats are split over the issue, so it's not a repeat of the usual partisan battle lines. But it is a clear defeat for Obama, who lobbied hard to very little effect.

This week, a summary of the Senate's report on CIA torture was released into the wild, and while the redactions were thick, it nevertheless read as a thoroughgoing chronicle of depravity and incompetence.

How do bad laws get made? Quickly, for the most part. No, that's not a joke. The worst laws nearly all have one thing in common: They are rushed through very quickly, usually because Congress is facing some self-imposed deadline.

It's that magical time of year when the wee folk of Capitol Hill actually get something done. These brief bursts of activity only happen very rarely, of course, and always immediately proceed another one of the many, many long vacations Congress takes during the year.

After making history this summer by becoming the first national paper to call for marijuana legalization, the New York Times doubled down today with their strong editorial in support of the marijuana legalization initiatives on the ballot in D.C., Oregon and Alaska.